The object of most ball rolling, pinball-type games is to score as many points as possible while keeping at least one ball in play as long as possible. The playing field of such a game is usually composed of various targets, each target having a certain point value. Hitting the targets accrues certain points to the player. Often, these targets have point values that increase each time they are hit. Therefore, it is to the players' benefit to hit the targets repeatedly. Since the balls in these games typically roll down a downwardly sloping playing field, player actuated flippers, usually two or more, are located on the playing field and are used to propel the balls upwards toward the score-bearing targets. The flippers typically are capable of two positions: a first, unactivated position and a second, activated position in which the flipper is rotated at one end through a limited angle.
In many of these games, the ball may be caught temporarily in the chevron formed by a flipper in its second, activated position and the wall of the playing field adjacent the flipper mechanism.
This catching of the ball slows down the game and gives the player control over the ball rather than simply attempting to propel the ball upward with the flipper. When the flipper is deactivated, the ball travels downward along the length of the flipper until the flipper is activated a second time. When the flipper is activated a second time, the ball is propelled upwards. The ball is propelled upwards in different directions depending on how far downward along the length of the flipper the ball has rolled before the flipper has been actuvated the second time. For example, the ball will be more likely to be propelled towards the opposite side of the playing field from the flipper when the ball is near the end of the flipper opposite the end where it was initially caught.
Therefore, a ball may travel along at least a portion of the flipper in two instances. The first instance is when a ball is caught and then the flipper is deactivated, as described above. The second instance is simply when the ball rolls down the playing field and impacts the flipper. In the second instance, the player has the option of activating the flipper when the ball first impacts the flipper or after the ball has rolled downward along a portion of the length of the flipper. In both instances, it would be desirable for a player to be able to ascertain and exercise some control over the direction in which the ball would be propelled upwards after activation of the flipper. It would be desirable for a player to be able to aim the ball towards targets of his or her choice. However, with known flipper designs, only the most skilled players can judge at what point the flipper should be activated to propel the ball generally towards certain targets.